This eastbound coal load just got a new crew here at Bond and is has started pulling eastbound toward Denver. Ultimately, the train will continue on to an interchange point to the east with Canadian National.
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Going for a little bit of a water reflection shot here at a standing pool of water on the opposite side of the tracks from the Colorado River. A pair of CN units are bringing up the tail end of this eastbound coal load.
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After meeting the westbound Zephyr here at (West) Bond, a new crew on the train is getting ready to start rolling east. It will continue through Center Bond (Orestod) on the siding to meet a westbound BNSF Denver-Provo.
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Along the shore of the Colorado River, the westbound California Zephyr rolls by an eastbound coal load on the 11,750-foot west siding of Bond. The coal load has a pair of Canadian National units as rear DPUs. You couldn't ask for a better mid-November day.
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At the west end of Bond, an eastbound coal load is taking the siding for a crew change. The relief crew will be called at Yampa at 11:45am, and the Grand Junction based crew currently on this train will have to wait in the meantime.
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I've never been to the Canadian Rockies, but it certainly seems as though this shot could have taken somewhere in Canada with this pair of Canadian National units on the train, crossing over the Colorado River just west of the west switch of Bond.
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An eastbound coal load emerges from the 647-foot long Yarmony Tunnel near the west switch of Bond. The train crosses the Colorado River right here at the east portal of the tunnel. Of note, UP 6392 is a former Espee unit. SP 346, to be exact.
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The leaves are all gone from the tree at the mid-point of November. However, there isn't a trace of snow yet here at Dell, which is rather uncommon at this point at the start of the winter season. A pair of CN units are DPUs on an eastbound coal load.
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A pair of Canadian National units bring up the tail end of an eastbound coal load. As if the CN units are not interesting enough, they also both have DC traction motors. Rather rare on unit trains in 2025. The train here is following the Colorado River at Dell.
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Two days ago, I got a few shots of a westbound coal empty led by a pair of Canadian National units. Now, two days later, that train has loaded at the West Elk Mine and the train is returning east. The Canadian National units are now the two tail end DPUs.
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Three units load a 99-car loaded coal train east on the Dotsero Cutoff between the sidings of Range and Dell. The train has seven units (3x2x2), so it is not having much trouble making track speed.
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The Rocky Mountaineer has left the Dotsero Cutoff behind as it is now on the main at the east end of the siding of Dotsero. In the distance, you can see the line that heads to Tennessee Pass. Roughly six miles of the west end of Tennessee Pass is still in service, with a local coming out of Grand Junction once or twice per week to service industries at Gypsum.
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Here at the west end of the Dotsero Cutoff, the cutoff joins the west end of Tennessee Pass. It is also here that the Eagle River joins with the Colorado River. The Rocky Mountaineer is technically still on the Dotsero Cutoff as it crosses over the Eagle River, and you can see it converging with the Colorado River.
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Just east of Range, the Rocky Mountaineer is crossing the Colorado River amidst some great fall colors as it continues westbound.
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If you've never taken a passenger train on the former Rio Grande, this is why you should if you get the chance! Whether it is the Rocky Mountaineer, such as here, or the California Zephyr, the scenery is breathtaking. The Mountaineer is crossing the Colorado River in Red Canyon under partly cloudy skies on a fantastic October afternoon.
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